Lenovo's Windows phone is coming next week for Japanese users

Lenovo says it isn’t making any Windows Phones, but this creatively named SoftBank 503LV is a Lenovo branded Windows phone for Japan – and it’s coming next week on November 11.

The phone, which was announced earlier this year, is a business-focused phone built with Windows 10 Mobile onboard for use in business and enterprise environments.

The phone has striking visual similarities to Moly’s Windows phones, including the placement of the camera and general design cues indicating that Lenovo didn’t design it themselves but are instead using an ODM/or reference design and simply slapping their brand name on it.

The specs of the device are nothing overly impressive, it features a Snapdragon 617 paired with 3 GB of RAM. Lenovo and Softbank also  include 32 GB of internal storage, expandable via Micro SD so there’s enough space for your emails, documents and pdfs. There’s a 720p screen along for the ride- while it’s not the sharpest screen on earth it should be workable for the average business man.

Microsoft’s Continuum is onboard, so business users can work with their universal apps on larger screens by connecting either wirelessly or via a USB Type C connector (which I assume is onboard)

Microsoft’s Windows phone operating system has fallen out of the mass market in recent times, capturing just under 0.3 percent of sales share at last count. Finding a niche where the software can grow unimpeded by the lack of apps is important, and Microsoft’s partners are doing their best.